Beginner's Guide to Rust

Starting your journey in Rust can be overwhelming, but with the right knowledge, you'll quickly progress from a naked spawning on a beach to building your first base. This comprehensive beginner guide covers everything you need to know to survive your first wipe, from gathering your first tools to establishing a safe shelter.

Spawning and Your First Minutes

When you first spawn into Rust, you'll appear in a random location as a fresh player with nothing but your clothes. Your immediate priority is gathering basic resources without getting killed by other players. Head toward resource-rich areas away from populated beaches. Look for rocks, wood, and cloth. Use your fists to gather stones and wood initially, then craft your first stone tools.

Avoid heavily traveled areas during your first spawn. Instead, move toward less populated zones where you can gather resources safely. Listen for gunshots and footsteps—if you hear them, move away. Keep moving until you find a spot with rocks, trees, and relative safety where you can gather your initial resources for 10-15 minutes.

Gathering First Tools

Your first crafting recipes should be a stone pickaxe and stone hatchet. These tools significantly speed up resource gathering compared to using your bare fists. A stone pickaxe increases your mining efficiency by 500%, while a stone hatchet increases wood gathering efficiency. With 75 stone and 100 wood in your inventory, craft these two essential tools immediately.

Once you have these basic tools, focus on gathering sulfur ore. This is critical for gunpowder production and raiding. Mine any yellow-colored rocks you find. Also gather wood and stone continuously—you'll need thousands of these resources as you progress. Consider using a stone spear as your first weapon for hunting animals and basic defense.

Building Your First 1x1 Base

A 1x1 is the simplest base design—literally one foundation with walls, door, and roof. This should be your goal in your first hour. Find a location away from main roads and monuments. You need approximately 5,000 stone, 5,000 wood, and 500 metal frags to build a basic secure 1x1. Don't worry about making it fancy; your goal is to have four walls, a door, a roof, and a floor to store items safely.

Place your foundation on relatively flat ground, away from edges or large drops. Build wooden frames for walls, doorways, and roof until you gather enough resources for a sheet metal door and walls. The sheet metal door is critical because wooden doors can be broken with a basic fire arrow, making your base vulnerable. Once locked with a code lock, your base becomes a safe storage location.

Sleeping Bags and Respawn Points

Crafting a sleeping bag should be one of your first priorities after building walls. A sleeping bag costs only 15 cloth and provides a respawn point when you die. This is absolutely critical—without a sleeping bag, you'll spawn randomly across the map each death. Place it in your base to ensure you respawn there. You can have multiple sleeping bags, allowing teammates to spawn in your base as well.

Sleeping bags have a 5-minute cooldown between uses, so if you die twice within 5 minutes, you won't spawn at your bag the second time. This mechanic encourages players to think carefully about fights. Always maintain at least one sleeping bag in your main base, and consider placing additional ones in secondary locations or bunker areas.

Tool Cupboard Placement and Protection

The Tool Cupboard (TC) is the most important object in your base. It prevents other players from building or upgrading structures. You can place one TC per base area. To build a TC, you need 200 wood, 100 stone, and 20 metal frags. Place it in the most secure room in your base—ideally a small isolated room that's hard to access.

To use the TC, place fuel (wood, low-grade fuel, or charcoal) inside and authorize yourself. The TC has an authorization circle—players can only build within this radius if authorized. This prevents enemies from building a structure to block your entrance. Protect your TC room with a locked door. Never let it run out of fuel, or enemies can build inside your base perimeter.

Looting Barrels and Crates

Barrels are scattered throughout the map and contain valuable resources. Different barrel types offer different loot: food barrels contain canned goods, military barrels contain weapon attachments and ammunition, and basic crates contain components. Loot barrels as part of your resource gathering routine, especially in low-radiation monuments where you can search safely without hazmat gear.

Carry a small bag and check barrels whenever you're passing through areas. This passive resource gathering adds up significantly over time. Military crates and elite crates require radiation protection and respawn on timers at monuments, but basic barrels respawn after 10 minutes. Prioritize looting barrels in the early game when monuments are dangerous.

Recycling for Progression

The Recycler is a machine that breaks down items into their component parts. You'll find recyclers at most monuments and can build one later. Early game, use monument recyclers to break down unwanted loot into valuable components. For example, recycling weapon attachments gives you springs, gears, and metal frags. This is essential for crafting ammunition and gun powder.

Plan your loot runs to pass through a recycler. Carry extra loot specifically to recycle. Items like pistols, shotguns, and rifles recycle into gunpowder components and metal frags. Focus on recycling items that give you high-value components for your current progression needs. This converts unwanted loot into progression resources.

Workbench Progression

The Workbench is your primary tool for progressing your tech and crafting capabilities. There are three workbench levels: Level 1 (costs 500 wood, 100 metal frags), Level 2 (costs 750 wood, 200 metal frags), and Level 3 (costs 1000 wood, 300 metal frags). Each level unlocks new weapon blueprints and significantly reduces crafting times.

Your first workbench should be Level 1, built in your base once you gather resources. Level 1 unlocks semi-automatic weapons and farming components. As you progress, upgrade to Level 2 for access to better weapons and ammunition. Level 3 is reserved for experienced players and large groups. Plan your progression around workbench levels—some early-game weapons require Level 1, while better guns require Level 2 or 3.

Survival Tips and Safety

Never carry all your valuable items when roaming the map. Divide your inventory between your base storage and what you actively need. If you die with items on you, they're gone. Always assume other players are hostile—in Rust, trust is minimal. Keep your doors locked and be cautious around other players, even if they seem friendly.

Learn the radiation system: areas with radiation require hazmat gear to explore safely. Avoid radiated areas early game. Instead, focus on gathering stone, wood, sulfur, and looting safe barrels. Build relationships with nearby players gradually—these relationships significantly improve your survival chances. Finally, always have a backup base location in case your main base gets raided.